TICK TOCK THE CLIMATE CLOCK – PART FORTY-TWO: THE KIDS ARE NOT ALL RIGHT

Lancet Planetary Health has just accepted for publication a study of how young adults are coping (or not coping) with climate change.  The study was conducted by The University of Bath, NYU Langone Health, Stanford Medicine Center, and a few other institutions and was reported by Politico, NPR, BBC, and Down to Earth.  I heard an excerpt from the report in a segment on WNYC and was very disturbed by the findings. 

The researchers surveyed 10,000 young adults aged 16 to 25 from ten countries, both rich and poor, and asked how they felt and what they thought about climate change.  The conclusion of more than half of the respondents was pretty dire:  “Humanity is doomed.”

As we gear up for the Glasgow Climate Conference (COP26), to be held between October 31 and November 12 this year, the study should be required reading for attendees, who ought to keep these staggering statistics in mind:

• nearly 60% reported that they felt either "very" or "extremely" worried about climate change

• more than half said climate change made them feel "angry, powerless, helpless, and/or guilty"

• two-thirds reported climate change made them feel “sad, afraid and anxious”

•  77% said that they considered the future to be frightening

• 56% agreed with the viewpoint that humanity is doomed

• 45% said the way they feel about climate change adversely affects their day-to-day lives

• across all the countries represented — the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Brazil, France, Finland, India, Nigeria, Portugal and the Philippines — 65% felt their government was failing them on climate change

• 60% felt that the government had been dismissing citizens' distress over climate change

• nearly half of those who said they talk with other people about climate change said that their concerns were ignored

According to BBC,

The lead author, Caroline Hickman from Bath University, told BBC News: "This shows eco-anxiety is not just for environmental destruction alone, but inextricably linked to government inaction on climate change. The young feel abandoned and betrayed by governments. 

"We're not just measuring how they feel, but what they think. Four out of 10 are hesitant to have children.

"Governments need to listen to the science and not pathologise young people who feel anxious.”

The authors of the report, … say levels of anxiety appear to be greatest in nations where government climate policies are considered weakest.

So just how badly are governments failing these kids?  Well, today I read in Politico Nightly that the UK chair of COP26 was engaged in a pissing contest with a French representative (who I hope will excuse my French) about whether the Paris Agreement calls for nations to limit global warming to 1.5°C or 2°C.: 

the U.K. minister who currently has custody over the climate accord set up a battle over its core aim that will play out during next month’s COP26 climate talks . In his last major speech ahead of the Glasgow meeting, Alok Sharma made it clear today he’ll be pushing hard for all countries in Scotland to cut their emissions during this decade by enough to give the world a chance to stop warming at 1.5 degrees. However, some big emitters, and even the French politician who helped negotiate the 2015 Paris climate deal, say the original deal primarily aims for a 2-degree target.

Seriously?!  Get a clue, people!  While you’re arguing over .5°C. in a document you wrote and are therefore charged with knowing what the hell it means, your children are seriously considering not giving you grandchildren because they don’t want to bring their children into the crappy, hot-box world you’re leaving them to deal with.

But that’s not the half of it.  Climate Action Network (CAN), a global NGO working to fight the climate emergency, concerned about the viability of the conference for attendees from poorer countries, earlier called for COP26 to be postponed due to vaccine inequities, unaffordable accommodations, and pandemic travel restrictions.  The problems CAN raised have been partially addressed, as Lancet Planetary Action notes, and the conference will go forward:

There is a difficult balance to be struck here; delaying COP26 further is far from desirable, but there are very serious risks of underrepresentation of the countries who are most vulnerable and frequently most vocal in pushing for ambitious cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. The UK Government has now agreed to cover the cost of hotel quarantining for delegates from high-risk nations and UK-provided COVID-19 vaccines for delegations without domestic vaccine access have now begun. These measures, though rather late in coming, should be sufficient for LMIC [low-to middle-income countries] experts and officials charged with taking part in the climate negotiations to participate. That should also prevent obstructive nations using fears about representation to cast doubts on the legitimacy of the outcomes. However, practical concerns remain because non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that have supported some low-income countries in past negotiations are likely to have reduced participation in Glasgow.

Climate finance issues present another challenge to participation by those nations most affected.  Again, from the Lancet:

Back in 2009, rich countries committed to channel $100 billion annually to help developing nations tackle climate change. That commitment should have been delivered on in 2020 and every year thereafter. So far however there is a significant shortfall. Saleemul Huq of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development argues that “If the money is not delivered before November, then there is little point in climate-vulnerable nations showing up in Glasgow to do business with governments that break their promises”.

Why show up, indeed?  Broken promises add another reason for these disillusioned kids to question whether the adults in the room are serious about addressing the climate emergency. President Biden recently pledged to double U.S. contributions to $11 billion per year, but these kids know that the U.S. presidency doesn’t hold America’s purse strings; Congress does.  The adults hope Biden’s pledge will encourage more countries to open their wallets.  I can only imagine what these kids would say to that.  Probably something like, “Put your money where your mouth is, or I call bullshit.”

The Lancet raises an interesting question about what is at stake in COP26 and what might happen if it fails to produce meaningful action:

It is hard not to see Glasgow as something of a make or break moment on climate change. A kind of last-ditch attempt at strong international climate policy and implementation. But that does rather beg the question, what do we do if Glasgow outcomes are inadequate to keep warming within relatively safe limits, even in principal? Of course, we hope this question is irrelevant and COP26 does deliver strong climate commitments, but if it doesn’t it won’t change our fundamental situation. We will still need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as fast as possible. More climate heating is definitely worse, but the world will not end or become uninhabitable at 2.1°C of warming or 2.5°C. Each additional increment of warming is bad, but for precisely that reason, it is never too late to begin to cut emissions in earnest. Glasgow is a vitally important opportunity to make collective progress towards decarbonising our economies and minimising climate heating, but it is important to remember that even if COP26 fails to deliver it will never be too late to stop making things worse.

Greta Thunberg might characterize this adult happy talk as, “Blah, blah, blah.” Nonetheless, she’s decided to attend COP26 and is open to meeting Biden now that social inequities have been somewhat addressed.  According to an interview with her in The Guardian,

she doesn’t expect much from either the US leader or the make-or-break summit….She complained that youth climate activists “are not being taken seriously” by world leaders. “They’re just saying, ‘We listen to you,’ and then they applaud us, and then they go on just like before.”

The suggestion that Biden has not only spoken strongly about the climate crisis but also is trying to pass the most ambitious climate legislation in US history does not impress Thunberg. The climate measures in the Democrats’ spending plan now under ferocious negotiation in Washington have “been so much watered down by lobbyists”, she said, “so we should not pretend that this would be a solution to the climate crisis”. Biden’s political problem – that as president in a democracy, he shares power with a legislative body where he faces unanimous Republican opposition that is determined to block his agenda – does not interest her. She judges by results only: “Emissions are still going up.”

That’s the Thunberg laser focus I love!

Taking no-prisoners, Thunberg is clearly soooo over the adult green washing that tries to paper over the gap between what people say and what they actually do: 

We are trying to find concrete, small solutions that are symbolic in order to make it seem like we are doing something, without actually confronting the problem at all. We are still not counting all the emissions when we are announcing targets. We are still using creative accounting when it comes to emissions cuts, and so on. As long as that’s the case, we will not get very far.”

Despite her low expectations for the adults in charge, Thunberg -  along with many of the kids in the study, who felt fear, anger, despair, grief, and shame - also feels hope:

Thunberg emphasized that she sees “many, many bright spots” in the climate emergency, citing the millions of people around the world who are taking action. “When I’m taking action, I don’t feel like I am helpless and that things are hopeless, because then I feel like I’m doing everything I can,” she said. “And that gives me very much hope, especially to see all the other people all around the world, the activists, who are taking action and who are fighting for their present and for their future.”

So, the kids may not be all right, but they sure are right:  As one 16-year-old included in the study wrote, “I think it's different for young people. For us, the destruction of the planet is personal.”

Keep it real!  Make it personal, and wear your damn mask!

Marilyn